Rotatable assembly for food waste disposers and the like



ROTATABLE ASSEMBLY FOR FOOD WASTE DISPOSERS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 22,1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 60 3B 78 loo 9 47 w 79 31 56 I 64 31 8 4 54\ 5 6665. 7 ez l0I 85 74 4 62' as x '56 4-5 5'3 5' 5 53 INVENTUR.

FRANCIS :r. CLEMENTS HIS ATTORNEY Dec. 10, 1963 F. J. CLEMENTS 3,113,735

ROTATABLE ASSEMBLY FOR FOOD WASTE DISPOSERS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 22,1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I r" llkll' s INVENTOR.

5'4- FRANCIS T. CLEMENTS Hi5 ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofiice3,113,735 Patented Dec. 10, 1963 3,113,735 ROTATABLE ASSEMBLY F011 FOODWASTE DISPOSERS AND THE LIKE Francis J. Clements, Louisville, Ky.,assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York FiledAug. 22, 1951, Ser. No. 133,142 4 Claims. (til. 241275) This inventionrelates to apparatus for the disposal of garbage and the like, moreparticularly to an assembly of rotatable elements operating in the wastecomminuting space of the apparatus. The invention is especiallyapplicable to waste food disposal apparatus of the type having astationary shredding or grinding means located on a hopper within whicha rotary flywheel serves as a bottom of the hopper and with thatflywheel being suitably driven by the shaft of a high speed electricmotor, the waste material being thrown centrifugally against theshredding means by an impeller travelling at the same speed as the shaftand flywheel and the comminuted waste material and later passing fromthe hopper through openings in a stationary metering and straining ring.

One of the problems encountered in this type of waste disposers in thatthe rotatable assembly must provide a suitable mounting for theimpellers enabling the assembly to be dynamically balanced for the highspeeds at which it is to travel and at the sarne time to permit suchimpellers to pivot and to pass by obstructions, such as bones and hardmaterials, without jamming the assembly.

This invention contemplates the provision of an improved rotatableassembly including a flywheel, an impeller and an assembling retainertherefor, suitably secured to the shaft of a high speed motor so thatthe entire assembly moves as a unit upon rotation of the motor shaft,and without danger of jamming.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent asthe following description proceeds and the features of novelty whichcharacterized the invention will be pointed out with particularity inthe claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. Inaccordance with the invention I provide a rotatable assembly for usewith the stationary portions of a food waste disposer and comprising aflywheel, an impeller, and an assembling retainer which secures theseveral elements as a unit to the shaft of a motor. The single retainernot only has a portion securable to that shaft but also has a portionengaging the flywheel and another portion serving to mount the impellerfor pivotal movement with respect to the flywheel even while beingrotated at the same speed as that flywheel. The retainer in addition tomounting the impeller also limits the pivotal movement thereof to arange within which jamming and loosening of the parts is prevented.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be made tothe following description and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view, partly in section, of one embodiment of awaste disposal device incorporating the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional plan View taken along line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional elevational view taken along line 33 of FIG. 2 andshowing the impellers in side elevation; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 44 of FIG. 2 andshowing an impeller in cross section.

Referring to FIG. 1, I have shown my invention in one form as applied toa waste disposal device having a generally cylindrical tubular casing orhopper providing an interior grinding or shredding space 11. The hoppermay be suitably supported below the drain opening of a sink or the likeas by means of a cylindrical tubular sleeve 12 which is arranged to beinserted down through the sink opening, and having at the upper end anoutwardly extending circular flange 13 adapted to overlie the edge 14 ofthat drain opening. The lower end of the sleeve is provided with aninturned flange 15 adapted to support a suitable sink stopper 16. Forsecuring the sleeve to the sink, a metal mounting ring 17 encircling thedepending sleeve is provided and includes a series of spaced bosses 18having corresponding threaded bolts 19 engageable therein.

On its inner periphery the ring 17 is adapted to bear against a suitablesnap ring 20 which seats in a suitably shaped groove 21 on the outercircumference of the sleeve 12, and to resist upward movement of thatsleeve. The bolts 19 function to clamp the flange 13 of that sleeve tothe floor of the sink by means of a clamping ring 22 encircling thesleeve 12 and having a gasket 23 interposed between that clamping ringand the undersurface of the sink. Upon being screwed upwardly the boltspull the flange 13 of the sleeve into tight engagement with the sink andcompress the gasket.

As described and claimed in U.S. Patent No. 3,108,755 issued to JohnnyW. Yartz and Francis J. Clements, on October 29, 1963, which is assignedto the General Electric Company, the assignee of the presentapplication, the upper end of hopper 10 is embedded in a boot 30 formedof rubber or the like and adapted for mounting in sealing contact withthe outer surface of sleeve 12. A clamp band 31 having a flange 32 forengagement with the lower end of a series of supporting hooks 33 isarranged in circumferential clamping relation to the boot, and may betightened by means of a screw 34 joining the respective ends of thatclamp hand, one such end being seen at 35. The upper ends of hooks 33are mounted within suitable recesses in the mounting ring 17 and thesehooks serve to support the hopper 10 securely in position under thesleeve 12.

At its lower end the hopper 10 is formed with an outwardly flaringflange 36 which is tightly clamped, as by means of a clamping band 37,to the upper end of a motor housing 38. This housing is formed in itsupper portions with a sloping bottom drainage chamber 39 leading to aside outlet 40 to which is attached a drain conduit 41 having a sealingring 42 interposed therebetween. An electric motor, preferably of a highspeed type with its field coils 43 recessed in the motor housing andwith its rotor 44 being supported upon a conventional thrust hearing(not shown), is mounted within the motor housing. An upwardly extendingmotor shaft 45 having an inwardly directed shoulder 46 and with athreaded upper end 47 projecting into the hopper grinding space 11 isarranged to drive the rotatable assembly of the present invention in themanner later to be described. This motor shaft is journalled in abearing 48 positioned within a cylindrical tubular bearing cup 49, thelower end of which includes a laterally projecting flange 50. Theperiphery of flange 51) is supported by a sealing ring 51 resting in arecess within the rotor space of the motor housing. An annular bearingcup ring 52 having a downwardly facing rim pressing against the flange50 serves to hold the parts in proper position. The ring 52 beingsecurely affixed to the motor housing as by means of a series of screws53.

A short metallic sleeve bushing 54 extending axially of the motor shaftand resting at its lower end upon shoulder 46 of the shaft serves toposition the rotatable comminuting assembly later to be described. Asuitable end cap 55 of resilient material is arranged interiorly of andover the top end of the bearing cup 49 and also surrounds the bushing 54with a tight fit, this end cap serving to prevent leakage of liquid fromthe drainage chamber 39 into the motor. A conventional lubricating wick56 preferably is enclosed within the bearing cup.

As best shown in FIGURES l and 2, the stationary portion of the disposerapparatus includes one or more shredding or grinding pads 60, 61, weldedor otherwise attached to the interior wall of the hopper in the grindingspace 11 thereof. Located beneath these grinding pads, is a meteringring 62., which may be of a flat annular shape having an outerperipheral portion 63 engageable in a recess within the upper part ofthe motor housing and held in place by flange 36 of the hopper, asuitable sealing ring 64 being positioned under that flange to preventleakage of liquid thrown toward this junction of the respective par-ts.The metering ring further has an inner peripheral portion 65 terminatingin a circular edge 66 and between its inner and outer peripheralportions the ring is provided with a series of holes 74 through whichwater and comminuted waste material pass to the drainage chamber 39.

For cooperation with the above-described static portions of theapparatus, the present invention includes in a preferred embodiment acircular planar flywheel 80 that turns in a counterclockwise directionas viewed in FIG. 2, and at its center an opening surrounding the shaftwith a loose lit, and at its outer periphery an edge 81 disposed closelyadjacent the edge 66 of the metering ring and with a small runningclearance of about 0.035- 0.040 inch. A rubber O-ring seal 1% is usedbetween the shaft 45, the sleeve bushing 54 and the flywheel 86 toprevent water leaking into the motor around the shaft. Arrangeddiametrically of, and symmetrically with respect to the axis of, thisflywheel is a pair of apertures 82 and 83 having a size suitable forreceiving a corresponding pair of drive pins 84 and 85, the diameters ofwhich are adequate to resist shearing stresses encountered during usageof the wate disposer. These pins serve as the flywheel engaging portionof an improved assembling retainer, the body of which is generallyindicated at 86.

This retainer may conveniently be cast, molded or drawn from sheet metaland may include symmetrically arranged radially-extending wings 8'7 and88 having sloping surfaces 89 and 90 on their upper exterior facesconfronting the contents of the hopper during rotation of the assembly.Flipper means 91 and 92 on the exposed upper surfaces of the retainermay be employed to dislodge any material tending to ride with theassembly during its rotation. At its center, the retainer is providedwith a threaded aperture portion 93 for securing the retainer rigidly tothe threaded shaft 47 in the manner later to be described. As a resultof this threaded fastening of the assembly to the shaft the weakening ofthe shaft and the dynamic unbalance created by a conventional key andslot arrangement may be avoided.

Each of the wings 87 and 88 of the retainer are suitably undercut toprovide a horizontally extending space or recess having a ceiling 94 and95 respectively as seen in FIG. 3 spaced from the upper surface of theflywheel, and a vertically extending space having a wall 96 and 97respectively spaced from the periphery of that flywheel. Within theserecesses under each wing of the retainer and corresponding impeller 98and 99 is mounted, each such impeller having a vertically extending holetherethrough embracing a pivot pin section 100 and 101 respectively ofan integral boss extending downwardly from the wing of the retainer andserving as an impeller mounting portion of the retainer. As best shownin FIG- URES 1 and 4, the drive pin sections 84 and 85 of the bossesform an integral extension of the pivot pin sections 100 and 101respectively, and each of these sets of pins preferably has a circularcross section and with their axes extending parallel to the axis of themotor shaft. The diameter of the drive pin sections preferably is lessthan the diameter of the pivot pin sections, being offset therefrom by asharp shoulder as seen in FIGURE 4. Attention is directed to the factthat the retainer '86 is of such height that it shades the impellers 98-and 99 when the impellers are driven back clockwise as viewed in FIG.

2 after being struck by a food particle. Other food particles ride upthe inclined surfaces 89 and 9t and are propelled over the retractedimpellers thereby avoiding the possibility of jamming the mechanism andstalling the motor. Moreover the flippers 91 act upon bones and the liketo protect the retracted impellers in a similar manner.

The holes in the impellers, however, may be either circular or of aslotted configuration, as when a larger extent of pivoted movement of animpeller is justified. As seen in FIGURE 4, the side portion of animpeller adjacent the vertical wall of the corresponding wing of theretainer is spaced therefrom during normal operation of the disposer andwhile that impeller is subjected to the high centrifugal forcesresulting from the high speed of the motor shaft. It will be understoodthat the center of mass of each impeller is located at .all times at agreater distance from the axis of the shaft than is the pivoted axis forthat impeller thus to cause the distal ends 78 and 79 of the respectiveimpellers to fly outwardly under centrifugal force and into propercomminuting relation with the stationary shredding means 60 and 61.

By suitable designs of the side portions of the impeller beneath theceiling of the retainer wing and of the vertical wall of that retainerunder that same Wing, an appropriate angular range of travel of theimpeller about its pivot pin may be insured, thus to avoid jamming ofthe impeller by means of the contents of the hopper, as when theapparatus starts up after a period of rest. Furthermore, the design ofthese Wall and side portions when either a circular or a slotted type ofhole in the impeller is being used will, in accordance with theinvention, be such as to prevent undue angular travel of the impeller,either clockwise or counterclockwise around its pivot pin when anobstruction is encountered or when the rotatable assembly coasts to astop after a period of use. In other words, the walls 96 and 97 are sodesigned with respect to the sides of the impellers coacting therewiththat these walls serve as stops to hold the pivotal movement of theimpellers in either direction within a reasonable range of swing whichwill avoid jamming of the impellers under any but the most abnormalconditions, and simultaneou ly will avoid any tendency of an impeller tostrike against the retainer with sufficient force to loosen thatretainer upon the shaft. For example, a satisfactory angular, forwardmovement of the distal end of an impeller about its pivot pin in thedirection of rotation of the assembly, as measured from its fullyextended radial position, would be about 15-20", and a satisfactoryangular rearward movement in the other direction would be about Underthese conditions the distal ends 78 and 79 of the respective impellerswhich extend beyond the peripheral edge 8-1 of the flywheel duringnormal comminuting operation, will also extend beyond that peripheraledge but to a shorter extent when pivoted to their limiting positions inthe direction of rotation of the assembly and will be withdrawn backupon the surface of the flywheel when pivoted to their limitingpositions opposite the direction of rotation of the assembly.

The wall or stop line 96 is so positioned that when an impeller is swungby centrifugal force in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG.2, the center of mass of the impeller will pass through an imaginaryline drawn through the center of the shaft 45 and the center of thepivotal axis of the impeller. The natural tendency of the centrifugalforce is to align the center of mass of the impeller with the center ofthe shaft and with the pivotal axis of the impeller. As the impellerswings beyond the imaginary line mentioned above, an oppositecentrifugal force component tends to slow it down and return it to itsnatural aligned position. If the stop line or wall 96 were shifted toserve as limit means to hold the impeller in its aligned position, thenthe impeller would strike the wall 96 with such force that the retainer86 might be lQQSfiIE on the Shaft 45 and become unfastened.

When the described rotatable assembly is employed with a high speedmotor, for example, a motor having a speed of not less than 6000 rpm.during the comminuting operation, it is desirable, if not essential,that the assembly be dynamically balanced. For this reason, similarimpellers should be used in pairs and the respective wing portions ofthe retainer should be approximately equal in mass and symmetricallyarran ed. The flywheel may be provided with apertures 1432, if desired,for forming a erforated floor in the hopper in order to vent Waterrapidly from the sink when the waste disposal apparatus is not in use,but such apertures should be symmetrically spaced and of symmetricalsizes to assist in the dynamic stability of the assembly. The impellerslikewise should be of equal masses and symmetrically located withrespect to the axis of the shaft.

The described assembly may be readily assembled or disassembled in thefollowing manner. With the clamping ring 37 removed and the hopper andmotor housing separated from each other, the flywheel 8i) may beassembled to the shaft. In a sub-assembly operation, the impellers 98and 99 are first placed upon the flywheel. Then the retainer 86 isassembled over the impellers by inserting the drive pins 84- and 85 intothe apertures 82 and 83 of the flywheel and in turn the pivot pins 109and Kill through the impellers. For ease in later handling, the tips ofthe drive pins are spun over to hold the parts together although this isnot absolutely necessary. Thereafter, the threaded aperture 93 of theretainer is engaged with the threaded end 47 of the shaft and the assembly is rotated clockwise as a unit to screw that assembly downwardlyupon the shaft until the flywheel fully compresses the seal 103. Bysubstituting a longer or a shorter bushing 5 the final axial position ofthe assembly may be varied as desired, but it is preferred to have theperipheral edge 81 of the flywheel slightly above the inner annular edge66 of the stationary metering ring 62 when in use. Thereafter, thehopper and motor housing may be joined to each other and the apparatusmay be attached to the sink in the manner described in theabovementioned Yartz and Clements application. Disassembly may takeplace in reverse order.

While I have shown and described a specific embodiment of my invention Ido not desire my invention to be limited to the particular constructionshown and described and I intend by the appended claims to cover allmodifications within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. A rotatable assembly for a food waste disposer comprising incombination with a motor shaft, a circular flywheel having an upperplanar surface and with an axis coinciding with the axis of said shaft,a pair of impellers movable with respect to said flywheel about pivotalaxes parallel to the axis of said flywheel and on diametrically oppositesides thereof, and an assembling retainer having a centrally locatedmeans rigidly secured to said shaft, said retainer having a pair ofsymmetrically arranged, radially extending, wing-like portions withundercut recesses contiguous to the upper surface of said flywheel, anda projection in each of said wing-like portions extending downwardly insaid recess and including a pivot pin section mounting the respectiveimpeller for pivotal movement thereabout and a drive pin sectionengageable in said flywheel for fastening said flywheel to saidretainer, each of said wing-like portions includes a vertically arrangedside wall of its recess serving to limit the pivotal movement of theimpeller in the direction of rotation of the flywheel so that the centerof mass of each impeller is allowed to move beyond an imaginary lineextending through the center of the shaft and the pivotal axis of theimpeller so as to reduce the tendency of the assembly from beingloosened from the shaft, as well as to avoid the occurrence of startingjams.

2. A rotatable assembly for a food waste disposer comprising incombination with a motor shaft, a circular flywheel having an upperplanar surface and with an axis coinciding with the axis of said shaft,a pair of impellers movable with respect to said flywheel about pivotalaxes parallel to the axis of said fl wheel and on diametrically oppositesides thereof, and an assembling retainer having a centrally locatedmeans rigidly secured to said shaft, said retainer having a pair ofsymmetrically arranged, radially extending, Wing-like portions withundercut recesses contiguous to the upper surface of said flywheel, anda projection in each of said wing-like portions extending downwardly insaid recess and including a pivot pin section mounting the respectiveimpeller for pivotal movement thereabout and a drive pin sectionengageable in said flywheel for fastening said flywheel to saidretainer, the retainer having a height that is greater than the heightof the impellers so the retainer shades the impellers when they areforced into a retracted position by food particles within the disposerso as to avoid jamming of the assembly.

3. A food waste disposer having a hopper enclosing a comminutingchamber, a motor housing disposed beneath said comminuting chamber andhaving a drainage chamber for receiving water and comminuted waste fromsaid hopper, a motor having a shaft, a flywheel mounted on the shaft, apair of impellers each pivoted about vertical axis to the flywheel, aretainer assembly lying over a portion of both impellers and having pinmeans that serve as the pivotal means of the impellers, said pin meansalso engaging the flywheel for locking the retainer thereto, the centerportion of the retainer being fastened to the motor shaft, the retainerassembly having a streamlined top surface with upwardly inclined leadingedges that rise above the impellers to shade the impellers from strikinfood particles when the impellers are in a retracted position back fromthe periphery of the flywheel so as to avoid jamming the flywheel andstalling the motor.

4. A food waste disposer as recited in claim 3 wherein the retainerassembly includes stop means to limit the swing of the impellers in thedirection of rotation of the flywheel to an acute angle where the centerof mass of each impeller swings forward of an imaginary line drawnbetween the center of the flywheel and the pivotal axis of the impellerso that the centrifugal force acting upon the impellers will tend toreturn the center of mass of each impeller to an aligned position withsaid imaginary line so as to reduce the impact of the impellers againstthe stop means and the consequent tendency of the flywheel to loosen onthe shaft, the said stop means also restricting the forward swing of theimpellers so as to reduce the vulnerability of the flywheel to startingjams.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,536,929 Hammel Jan. 2, 1951 2,594,250 Tranbarger Apr. 22, 19522,679,981 Eisinga June 1, 1954 2,940,677 Jordan June 14, 1960 FOREIGNPATENTS 321,989 Switzerland July 15, 1957

1. A ROTATABLE ASSEMBLY FOR A FOOD WASTE DISPOSER COMPRISING INCOMBINATION WITH A MOTOR SHAFT, A CIRCULAR FLYWHEEL HAVING AN UPPERPLANAR SURFACE AND WITH AN AXIS COINCIDING WITH THE AXIS OF SAID SHAFT,A PAIR OF IMPELLERS MOVABLE WITH RESPECT TO SAID FLYWHEEL ABOUT PIVOTALAXES PARALLEL TO THE AXIS OF SAID FLYWHEEL AND ON DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSITESIDES THEREOF, AND AN ASSEMBLING RETAINER HAVING A CENTRALLY LOCATEDMEANS RIGIDLY SECURED TO SAID SHAFT, SAID RETAINER HAVING A PAIR OFSYMMETRICALLY ARRANGED, RADIALLY EXTENDING, WING-LIKE PORTIONS WITHUNDERCUT RECESSES CONTIGUOUS TO THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID FLYWHEEL, ANDA PROJECTION IN EACH OF SAID WING-LIKE PORTIONS EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY INSAID RECESS AND INCLUDING A PIVOT PIN SECTION MOUNTING THE RESPECTIVEIMPELLER FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT THEREABOUT AND A DRIVE PIN SECTIONENGAGEABLE IN SAID FLYWHEEL FOR FASTENING SAID FLYWHEEL TO SAIDRETAINER, EACH OF SAID WING-LIKE PORTIONS INCLUDES A VERTICALLY ARRANGEDSIDE WALL OF ITS RECESS SERVING TO LIMIT THE PIVOTAL MOVEMENT OF THEIMPELLER IN THE DIRECTION OF ROTATION OF THE FLYWHEEL SO THAT THE CENTEROF MASS OF EACH IMPELLER IS ALLOWED TO MOVE BEYOND AN IMAGINARY LINEEXTENDING THROUGH THE CENTER OF THE SHAFT AND THE PIVOTAL AXIS OF THEIMPELLER SO AS TO REDUCE THE TENDENCY OF THE ASSEMBLY FROM BEINGLOOSENED FROM THE SHAFT, AS WELL AS TO AVOID THE OCCURRENCE OF STARTINGJAMS.